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How A Change Of Diet Could Help To Reduce Your Risk Of Developing Prostate Cancer

Every 19 minutes, a man dies from prostate cancer The most recent statistics from the American Cancer Society tell us that prostate cancer is responsible for at least 75 deaths per day. One in seven men in the US will have prostate cancer in their lifetime. 1 At a global level an estimated one in three men over the age of 40 will have some kind of prostate problem. One in 13 men over the age of 40 will have a serious prostate health issue.

The prostate, a walnut-sized gland located low in the pelvis and underneath the bladder, is vital to male reproductive health. When health starts to falter in this small gland, a slew of health problems can arise, including an enlarged prostate, prostatitis and even prostate cancer.

DRUGS AREN’T THE ANSWER

When you start experiencing unpleasant symptoms related to your prostate, you’ll probably visit your doctor first. For example, painful urination or blood in the urine may be an early sign of prostate cancer; symptoms like lower back pain, recurring urinary tract infections and pain during ejaculation may be related to prostatitis.

For almost any prostate-related health condition, your doctor will likely prescribe medication to ‘fix’ the problem. Alpha blockers may be used to treat an enlarged prostate and can increase the risk of heart failure over long-term use; antibiotics used to address a prostatitis infection can destroy healthy levels of beneficial microflora in the gut; the toxic effects of cancer treatments are well known and, in many cases, can be a cause of death.

Medication seems like the most logical choice when the medical community blames poor prostate health on genetics. Your doctor may tell you that you have a genetic predisposition to prostate cancer, meaning that you have no control over your fate. But what your doctor may fail to point out or even recognise is that all factors related to prostate cancer, except in very rare cases, and all factors related to chronic lifestyle disease can be changed by the choices you make.

The book Improving Men’s Health in 30 Days explains why there may be hope for those who have a genetic predisposition to a devastating health condition like prostate cancer A quote from the book states: ‘Even poor genes that indicate cancer can be ‘overwritten’ by making the necessary dietary and environmental changes, according to research. Simply put, this means that your DNA is not a death sentence. Researchers from Belgrade’s Institute for Medical Research assert that epigenetics trump genetics, meaning that outside influences can help to rewrite DNA coding. The very most important outside influence is diet, followed by environmental factors. Bioactive foods, particularly nutrient-rich, non-starchy vegetables, can improve health and prevent disease.’

Changing your diet may be the most important thing you can do, as a man, to improve your health and ward off a serious condition like prostate cancer. Harvard School of Public Health researchers were clear: after an initial prostate cancer diagnosis, eating the typical Western diet, high in dairy, processed foods, refined grains, and red meat, has been linked to a significantly higher risk of prostate-cancer related mortality and overall mortality. A 2015 study published in Cancer Prevention Research found that a heart-healthy diet rich in really healthy foods could greatly reduce the chances of dying of prostate cancer.2

In a group of 926 men diagnosed with prostate cancer, and followed for 14 years on average after diagnosis, the men who ate a Western diet had a two-and-a-half times higher risk of prostate cancer-related death compared to the men who ate the healthiest diet, with a 36 per cent lower risk of death overall.

That’s not all. Within an evidence-based review, researchers confirmed that a diet low in fat and red meat, and high in vegetables and fruits, could help to prevent prostate cancer The study authors said of the compelling review published in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics. In patients with prostate cancer, dietary therapy allows patients to be an active participant in their treatment. 3

Eating a really healthy foods diet full of vegetables and dark skinned fruits; nuts, beans, and seeds; grass-fed meats and oily fish in moderation; healthy oils; and carbohydrate alternatives like quinoa, buckwheat, and legume pasta, is the foundation of prostate health. But because of modern agricultural practices that have depleted our soil, even the healthiest diet can’t give your prostate the abundant nutrients it needs every day to ward off illness and disease.

These potent prostate nutrients can be taken as a supplement to support daily men’s health:

Iodine

Without a doubt, iodine is one missing mineral every man needs. Liquid nascent iodine is a known supporter of energy, detoxification, metabolism, immunity and thyroid function. Compared to the US, where prostate cancer is rampant, prostate cancer rates are remarkably lower in Japan, a country with a high iodine intake. 4

Serrapeptase

Serrapeptase is a potent anti-inflammatory enzyme, known for its ability to eat through inflammation and non-living tissue in the body. 5 Serrapeptase works alongside other super-nutrients, like vitamin D3, curcumin, and Ecklonia Cava Extract, to ease pain and inflammation in the prostate and to buffer chronic inflammation in the body that leads to cancer.

Zinc

Most men don’t realise that the prostate gland has one of the highest concentrations of zinc in the body. When cancer develops in the prostate gland, zinc levels drop dramatically, leading many researchers to believe that increasing zinc intake could help to prevent prostate cancer or at least provide a treatment strategy. 6 Zinc is best taken along with other critical nutrients known to support men’s health, like vitamin 86, vitamin D3, vitamin E, Saw Palmetto, and selenium. (Note: Selenium is also an essential cofactor needed to activate iodine in the body).

The prostate is one area of men’s health that we don’t often talk about. As a cultural norm, men are taught to be strong and silent, and this attitude has taken a toll on our health. The more we are willing to talk about men’s health concerns and the nutrients we need to prevent illness, the more prostate health will improve and cancer rates will drop.